MacTech Blog

Dec 02

Greg's Bite: Carrier IQ info

Posted by Greg Mills

I contacted Apple Media Relations Thursday morning requesting comment on the Carrier IQ privacy issue on Apple products and got a phone call back with an official statement from Apple, at 4:30 Central time. This is Apple's Official Statement on Carrier IQ:

"We stopped supporting CarrierIQ with iOS 5 in most of our products and will remove it completely in a future software update. With any diagnostic data sent to Apple, customers must actively opt-in to share this information, and if they do, the data is sent in an anonymous and encrypted form and does not include any personal information. We never recorded keystrokes, messages or any other personal information for diagnostic data and have no plans to ever do so."

Apple iOS users can turn off diagnostic software on their devices. Go into the Settings menu and follow these instructions. On an iPhone or iPad with the 3G radio, turning the Carrier IQ software off is very...

I don't understand most analysts. The consensus opinion among pro pundits seems to be that iPhone sales for the holidays will disappoint while Mac sales will thrill.

Overall iPhone shipments in the holiday quarter could come in around 30 million units or below Wall Street expectations. I'm not sure what the Street was expecting, but 30 million units sounds like a lot of iPhones sold. (Academic studies have shown that insiders traditionally make higher investment returns than ordinary investors.)

Meanwhile, Barclays said that it continues to believe Apple can see further gains as it extracts more profits out of the traditional computer and mobile phone industries. According to its checks, sales over Black Friday and Cyber Monday were quite solid for Apple, largely in line with their own expectations. Barclays believes Macs have momentum overseas in the Apple's December quarter, as it expects unit growth of 22% year-over-year.

"Rather than having a static tone mapping curve for all images, the curve can be varied automatically based on, e.g., the brightness histogram of the image. In one embodiment, a certain percentage of the least bright pixels and a certain percentage of the brightest pixels can be disregarded, while the remaining pixels can be linearly stretched to encompass the original range of brightness values. Based on the distribution of the resultant stretched brightness histogram, slopes for the low end (S.sub.0) and high end (S.sub....

An Apple patent (number 20110293094) for a "digital handshake" between devices shows that Apple is looking at new ways sharing data between handheld devices -- and perhaps Macs.

The patent is is directed to a digital handshake for establishing a secure communications path between two electronic devices. Each device can capture an image of the other device using a camera (e.g., a front facing camera or a back facing camera) and extract, from the captured image, a key or seed associated with the other device.

For example, each device can display a seed to be identified from an image taken by the other device. Using the extracted keys or seeds, each device can generate, using a same process, an identical digital handshake key. The digital handshake key can then be used to define a secure communications path between the two devices and share information securely.

In some embodiments, a digital handshake key can be shared among several devices to create a multi-...

A new Apple patent (number 200110292051) shows Apple's continued interest in avatar creation. An an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character.

The patent involves a three-dimensional (“3D”) avatar can be automatically created that resembles the physical appearance of an individual captured in one or more input images or video frames. The avatar can be further customized by the individual in an editing environment and used in various applications, including but not limited to gaming, social networking and video conferencing. The inventors are Alex Tremain Nelson, Cedric Bray, Thomas Goossens, Merwe Rudolph Van Der, Richard E. Crandall and Bertrand Serlet.

Here's Apple's background on the invention: "Avatars are increasingly used in online social networking, gaming, and other communications, typically as a surrogate for an actual photograph of the user. Avatars offer a measure of privacy, while allowing the user to have...

The Spy recently acquired a few surplus G5s, and in the process of setting them up to be useful file servers and replacements for even older G4s at his home and church, (re)-discovered some interesting things about memory, disk drives, and both hardware and software compatibilities.

First is that all disk drives are not manufactured equal, quite apart from the Thailand flooding that means many aren't being manufactured at all. Two 250G Maxtor drives in an old G5 Quad, when inserted into a new (well, one year old) MacPro, could not be recognized. Evidently this is a known problem with this brand--they play well with some machines and not with others. 'Course, the Maxtor name is gone now, absorbed by Seagate, but perhaps this finicky behaviour is one reason why.

So, the Spy went out to his local NCIX store and picked up a new Western Digital Caviar blue 500G drive for the Quad. No problem getting that recognized, partitioned,...

How big can this iPad thing get? A lot bigger still, apparently, based on new data from eMarketer (http://www.emarketer.com), a "digital intelligence" research firm. The company says 1-in-3 online consumers will use a tablet by 2014.

Tablet devices, in their current incarnation, have only been available for a couple years, but the iPad has propelled them to rapid increases in ownership and usage. eMarketer estimates that by the end of 2011, 33.7 million Americans will use a tablet device at least monthly -- a rise of 158.6% over last year, the year the iPad was released.

Growth will slow to double digits beginning in 2012. However, the number of users will rise to nearly 90 million, or 35.6% of all internet users, by 2014. eMarketer’s previous tablet-related forecasts have focused on unit sales and the total installed base of devices.

Economist Martin Sullivan says Apple is no better than other multinationals that have been "painted as corporate tax dodgers by major media outlets." This would seem to contradict a Nov. 3 report in which Citizens for Tax Justice estimated that Apple paid an average effective U.S. tax rate of 31% between 2008 and 2010.

That's close to the ostensible corporate income tax rate of 35%, notes the "San Francisco Chronicle" (http://macte.ch/coRY2). Out of 280 companies in the study, only 49 had a higher effective tax rate than Apple.

However, Sullivan says "despite outward appearances, Apple enjoys enormous foreign tax benefits, just as GE and Google do. By taking advantage of lax U.S. and foreign tax laws, Apple has been able to book a large share of its foreign profits in low-tax jurisdictions and greatly reduce its tax liability in the United States and other major countries where it conducts most of its...

An Apple patent (number 8069356) for accessory power management has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. It includes methods, apparatus, and circuits for managing power among portable computing devices and one or more accessories.

One example provides commands to improve power management between a portable computing device and one or more accessories. Other examples provide commands that may allow a portable computing device to charge at a maximum available current level while providing an accessory with sufficient current for its proper operation. Another may help prevent a portable computing device from drawing a high level of current that could be detrimental to an accessory, while others provide commands that may allow a battery pack to instruct a portable computing device to not charge its internal battery.

Another example may allow a portable computing device to determine which power supply among multiple power supplies should be used to power an...

The RIM PlayBook is being sold off at $99 as paperweights. Best Buy sold their existing PlayBook inventory that they had tried to return to RIM, unsuccessfully it seems. When they sold out at $99, it appears Best Buy has washed its hands of the worst dud since the Kin Phone Microsoft pulled from the market after about 6 weeks of humiliation and abuse in the press.

RIM has taken the "gang that can't shoot straight" title away from Microsoft as every BlackBerry and the PlayBook have failed to gain market share for the once big gun in the enterprise arena. The outages that mysteriously took down the RIM network and repeated dud smartphone models have really hurt the reputation of RIM. With a bill of materials for PlayBook of about $205, retailing them for $99 amounts to dumping them to clear shelf space.

It is hard to imagine PlayBook coming back at this stage of the game. The promised software that RIM failed to launch...

Take this one with a grain of salt, but "Side-Line Music Magazine" (http://macte.ch/r31IY) says the CD format will be abandoned by major labels in just over a year.

The article says the major labels plan to abandon the CD-format and replace it with download/streaming only releases via iTunes and related music services. That would, of course, tickle Apple immensely. The only CD-formats that will be left over will be the limited edition ones, which won't be available for every artist, sys "Side-Line." The distribution model for these remaining CD releases would be primarily Amazon, which is already the biggest CD retailer worldwide anyhow.

"It's a move that makes completely sense. CD's cost money, even when they don't sell because there is stock storage to be paid; a label also pays money to distributors when CDs get returned to the labels when not sold and so on," says "Side-Line." "In short, abandoning...

Apple has been granted two patents by the US Patent & Trademark Office. Following is a summary of each.

Patent number 8068125 involves luminescence shock avoidance in display devices. Per the patent, a luminescence shock avoidance algorithm selectively limits the brightness level of a display device when the display device is activated in a dark environment to prevent the temporary vision impairment that can occur when a display device is activated in a dark environment. The algorithm receives the state of the display (e.g. on or in standby mode), and can optionally receive an ambient lighting value from an ambient light sensor and a user-selectable manual brightness adjustment setting to determine whether luminescence shock avoidance should even be triggered, and if it is triggered, how much should the brightness level of the display be limited. Kai Achim Pantfoerder is the inventor.

The tech rumor mill is in overdrive right now over the prospects of Apple revolutionizing another major industry: television. The television manufacturers, according to reports, is in full panic mode not knowing what Apple is going to do their market share.

Razor thin margins are the norm, so losing market share without being able to quickly pare down expenses could be disastrous. Not knowing what magic Apple will do leaves them very worried. The 3D and internet connected TV never really pushed sales and these days, 55 inches and up displays are not that big a deal .... so what does Sony or the other TV hardware companies do?

The TV "software" business is so fragmented it is bewildering to both consumers and the industry as well. NetFlix and other internet downloaded video content providers struggle to keep up with innovation and they all know Apple, at least, has its feet wet in that industry. What revolutionary...

Shoppers expect to spend approximately US$748 this season compared to plans of spending $730 at this time last year, according to the Discover 2011 Annual Holiday Shopping Survey, which examines holiday spending intentions and trends for the upcoming holiday season.

Twenty-three percent of respondents indicated they intend to spend more in 2011, up from 13% that planned to spend more in 2010. Fifty percent of consumers intend to spend the same or more as they did last year; up from 43%.

One of the most important insights the survey revealed for consumer shopping intentions is Americans’ propensity to look to sites such as Groupon or Living Social for gift purchases. When asked if they would buy a gift through a group-buying site, more than half, 55%, of consumers gave a jolly nod to the idea, up from 22% who said the same last year. In 2010, just 6% of those surveyed said they had purchased a gift through a group-buying site, which more than tripled in 2011 to 20...

Thanksgiving is almost here in the US and the "MacNews" and "MacTech" web sites will be "closed" on Thursday and will be operating on a limited schedule Friday so the entire gang can celebrate the holiday with our families.

I have a lot to be thankful for, and I hope you do, too. I'm grateful for my family, my friends and my church. They're what life is all about.

I'm thankful for having a job when so many people don't. Which means I'm grateful to you, our readers, and to our advertisers.

I'm grateful that there are cool Apple gadgets in the world. They make life much more productive -- and fun.

Apple has been granted three patents by the US Patent & Trademark Office. Following is a summary of each.

Patent number 8065143 involves providing text input using speech data and non-speech data. Systems, methods, and computer readable media providing a speech input interface. The interface can receive speech input and non-speech input from a user through a user interface. The speech input can be converted to text data and the text data can be combined with the non-speech input for presentation to a user. Kazuhisa Yanagihara is the inventor.

Patent number 8065392 is for methods and systems for managing web feed content with an email client application. Per the patent, a web feed manager formats web feed contents from a web feed to allow a user on the email client application to read web feed contents as email messages with all the controls typically provided by the email client application for an email message, such as displays...

Twice as many consumers will be spending less money this season (33%) than more (15%), according to a previous poll by Consumer Reports (http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/index.htm). However, electronics and gadgets will be popular items this year -- and that's good news for Apple.

Seventeen percent of respondents to the pool plan to purchase an iPad. The Leapfrog LeapPad is on the shopping lists of 14 percent of adults, while one in ten (10 percent) plan to purchase the Apple iPhone 4S. Other items that were near the top of the list include: the Sesame Street Let's Rock! Elmo, the Amazon Kindle Fire, a 3D television set, Fisher-Price's Sing-A-Ma-Jigs, and an Internet-ready television.

The new Consumer Reports poll found that nine in ten (94%) Americans will shop in stores this holiday season, while 55% plan to shop online. Of those who will make trips to...

In an always-on, connected world with a surplus of new devices fit for every function, location and context it’s no surprise that mobile phones are helping people multi-task and even duck out of awkward situations. A recent Yahoo! Mobile/Razorfish study (mobile.yahoo.com) reveals some intriguing gender differences in usage and ranks the smartphone as the highest rated device in the home with 75% of votes.

The more than 2,000 U.S. respondents that participated in the study -- which revealed that the iPhone 4S is the top searched mobile phone -- were asked questions on their multi-tasking habits and device preferences, bringing to light some interesting trends and valuable insights. The study found 52% of consumers use their mobile device to escape awkward situations. Women are more likely to use their phone as an excuse than men.

Overall men (59%) are using their web-enabled mobile devices most frequently for navigational purposes. And, not surprisingly, men were...

Twice as many consumers will be spending less money this season (33%) than more (15%), according to a previous poll by Consumer Reports (http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/index.htm). However, electronics and gadgets will be popular items this year -- and that's good news for Apple.

Seventeen percent of respondents to the pool plan to purchase an iPad. The Leapfrog LeapPad is on the shopping lists of 14 percent of adults, while one in ten (10 percent) plan to purchase the Apple iPhone 4S. Other items that were near the top of the list include: the Sesame Street Let's Rock! Elmo, the Amazon Kindle Fire, a 3D television set, Fisher-Price's Sing-A-Ma-Jigs, and an Internet-ready television.

The new Consumer Reports poll found that nine in ten (94%) Americans will shop in stores this holiday season, while 55% plan to shop online. Of those who will make trips to...

Bit by bit more inside information is leaking out as to the various visions Steve Jobs had for Apple technology. The massive authorized book about Steve had a lot of insight into the grandiose directions he saw ahead for Apple. I read it on iPad, a fitting tribute to Steve Jobs. His life cut too short by cancer, it is hard to imagine the full spectrum of things he might have done if he lived to a ripe old age.

One news story that has recently hit the internet is that Jobs was thinking at one time of competing with the existing cellular networks using unlicensed spectrum. He would launch iPhone exclusively to work outside of AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint using Wi-Fi and other public free frequencies to connect iPhones to the internet and thus the telephone network.

As I mentioned in a previous blog Tony Fadel filed a patent that Apple recently received for reselling unused bandwidth Apple hoped to buy wholesale from...

An overwhelming 95% of people around the world now own cell phones, according to a new nine-country study by SSI. And smartphones are heading toward market domination, which is nothing but good news for Apple and the iPhone.

Hong Kong (99%), China (98%) and Sweden (98%) have the highest cell phone ownership rates, while the US (89%) has the lowest. Findings show that, among cell phone owners, 42% currently have smartphones -- and 58% are planning to make their next cell phone a smartphone.

The highest rates of smartphone ownership are in China (68%) and Hong Kong (57%), while Japan (16%) and Sweden (33%) fall at the opposite end of the spectrum. Those countries that are lagging are likely to catch up soon, however, with almost half of respondents in Japan and Sweden intending to make their next cell phone a smartphone.

Of those planning to buy smartphones, iPhones are the preferred brand. If money were no object, almost a third of respondents globally say...

Apple is working on ways to make its Mac laptops even more durable, as evidenced by a new patent (number 20110285293) for weld check stations has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office.

A method of manufacture for a portable computing device is described. In particular, methods and apparatus for assessing a quality of weld joints used to connect one or more components of the portable computing device are described. The weld joints can include one or more weld points. At a weld check station, using a vector network analyzer, a test signal generated can be passed through the weld joint and a response signal can be measured.

The measured characteristics can be used to assess a quality of the weld joint. In one embodiment, the vector network analyzer can be used to generate a number of high frequency test signals that are passed through the weld to perform a time domain reflectometry measurement where the weld joint can be accepted or rejected based upon the...

Apple is working on an universal power adapter that could simultaneously charge a Mac laptop and an iOS device, per a new patent (number 20110278923) for a multi-output power supply at the US Patent & Trademark Office.

Per the patent, an apparatus for providing power to an electronic device may include a power input configured to receive an input voltage from a power supply, and a rectifier operatively connected to the power input and configured to convert the input voltage to a first voltage. The rectifier may further be configured to transmit the first voltage to a first power output operatively connected to the rectifier.

The apparatus may further include a power converter operatively connected to the rectifier and configured to convert the first voltage to a second voltage different than the first voltage and a first relay operatively connected to the rectifier to selectively prevent the first voltage from being transmitted through the first power output....

Not surprisingly, but still good news for the iPad, is a a new study by Strategy Analytics (http://www.strategyanalytics.com) that says that tablets are replacing notebooks for multi-screen TV users.

TV viewers who use a gadget to surf the web or chat on Facebook while watching TV are migrating away from the laptop and toward the tablet as the preferred personal device, according to new research published by the research group. The report, "Multi-Screen User Behaviors in the Home," also found that, for those who own a laptop or a tablet, smartphone use while watching TV is limited to "alert" functions, like text or voice messages, rather than as a TV companion.

"The tablet is clearly becoming the primary TV companion device for advanced users," says Caroline Park, senior analyst and the report’s author. "Designers wishing to engage consumers while in the home/TV-watching...

The popularity of Apple products -- Macs, iPhones and iPads – among consumers has begun to spill over into the enterprise arena. Younger workers in particular are demanding hardware flexibility in the workplace, remote access and the ability to bring their own devices.

New figures from MokaFive (http://www.mokafive.com), which makes a virtual desktop solution that runs corporate Windows on a Mac, shows the incredible market opportunity for Apple. To wit:

° About 90 million computers are purchased for the enterprise annually;

° The Mac is in high demand -- let’s say 33% of enterprises ultimately elect to enable Mac in their business;

° That’s 30 million Macs at US$1,500 each, leading to a $45 billion market opportunity for Apple.

That's a huge opportunity for Apple. And it certainly shows that the Mac may not have the flash of the iOS platform at the present, but has a...

Three patents have popped up at the US Patent & Trademark Office showing that Apple is working on better antennas for its laptops.

Patent number 8059039 is for a clutch barrel antenna for wireless electronic devices. Per the patent, wireless portable electronic devices such as laptop computers are provided with antennas. An antenna may be provided within a clutch barrel in a laptop computer. The clutch barrel may have a dielectric cover. Antenna elements may be mounted within the clutch barrel cover on an antenna support structure. There may be two or more antenna elements mounted to the antenna support structure. These antenna elements may be of different types.

A first antenna element for the clutch barrel antenna may be formed from a dual band antenna element having a closed slot and an open slot. A second antenna element for the clutch barrel antenna may be formed from a dual band antenna element of a hybrid type having a planar resonating...

Apple has been granted three patents by the US Patent & Trademark Office, one of them involving the iTunes interface.

Patent number 8060375 involves an enhanced visual feedback of interactions with an user interface (the iTunes interface). Per the patent, n item in a user interface is visually enhanced in response to an interaction with the item or in response to a request. In some implementations, the item (e.g., an icon, button, text, etc.) is visually enhanced and displayed in the user interface at a conspicuous location (e.g., the center of the user interface).

Optionally, the user interface can be altered (e.g., darkened) to improve the visibility of the enhanced item. In some implementations, visual enhancement includes displaying enhanced feedback (e.g., text, data, graphical objects or images, etc.) associated with the item in a caption panel. The caption panel can display enhanced feedback associated with any items in the user interface...

If Apple is indeed planning to make its own HDTV as many pundits are predicting, next year might be a great time to enter the market. The number of TV sets connected to the Internet will reach 551 million by 2016, up from 124 million at end-2010, according to new data from Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com).

This translates to 20% of global TV sets by 2016, up from only 6% at end-2010, notes the research group. Despite all of this rapid growth, only 8.9% of global TV sets will be connected to the Internet by 2016.

However, this is up from a mere 1.4% at end-2010. Proportions will vary considerably from one country to the next, with South Korea the market leader in 2016 (boasting 15.0% penetration), according to Research and Markets.

The US consumer electronics devices market, defined as the addressable market for computing devices, mobile handsets and AV products, is projected to be worth around US$239.4 billion in 2011, according to new data from Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com). And that's good news for Apple.

What's more, the market is expected to increase to US$276.6 billion by 2015 at a CAGR of 3.0%, driven by premium TV sets, smartphones and notebooks. And that's even better news for Apple.

The research group forecasts US computer hardware sales of US$144.8 billion in 2011. CAGR [compound annual growth rate] for the 2011-2015 period will be about 2.5%, but multimedia and entertainment notebooks are growth areas. Computer sales grew strongly in 2010, boosted by a revival of the business market. And the Mac is outgrowing the computer industry as a whole. By more than six times,...

Apple plans to completely overhaul its product lineups, including the iMac, iPad, iPhone and MacBook Air in 2012, according to "DigiTimes" (http://www.digitimes.com). I'd say that's a safe bet, although I'm not sure what a radically overhauled iMac would be like.

It could be even slimmer. Perhaps Apple will eliminate the built-in optical drive as it has with the MacBook Air and Mac mini, offering the $79 SuperDrive for those who want such a drive. Or perhaps -- though much less likely -- Apple will give us a 3D iMac -- something akin to the US$1,899 Touchsmart 620 3D Edition from HP.

The Touchsmart 620 3D Edition sports a 23-inch, 3D-enabled display that swivels up to 180 degrees and reclines up to 60 degrees. The 1920-by-1080 (1080p HD) resolution screen is purportedly great for playing back Blu-ray movies or TV from the built-in tuner. Yep, unlike any Mac offering, the all-in-one has a Blu-ray...

Adobe finally blinked after Steve Jobs didn't. As a young man Jobs actually practiced staring people down without blinking for long periods. He knew it freaked people out and so mastered long blinkless pearcing stares. Figuratively, he did that with Adobe by refusing to pre-load Flash on Macs, and Apple didn't allow Flash to even run on the iOS platform. Wretched whining from various quarters didn't get Apple to change its stand, as there really were technical issues that Adobe wouldn't or couldn't fix.

Apple was of the opinion that HTML5 was the way to do web animation and, finally, Adobe gave up, announced that Flash was dead and fired 750 Flash platform employees. Flash, in addition to being a battery hog also had security issues, kept cookies in a place that made it harder to police what you picked up on the web by simply running a Flash-enabled browser.

You don't have to use an iPhone or iPad on the web very long to run...

An Apple patent (number 20110274303) at the US Patent & Trademark Office shows that Apple may be planning clip-on iPod nano or iPod shuffle with a built-in speaker.

Per the patent, certain embodiments may take the form of an electronic device having a main housing encapsulating operative circuitry for the device. The electronic device includes an attachment member moveably coupled to the metal housing. The attachment member has an acoustical device located therein that is communicatively coupled to the operative circuitry. The inventors are John Benjamin Filson, Eugene Whang and Matthew Rohrbach.

Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention: "Small form factor electronic devices such as personal digital assistants, cell phones, mobile media devices and so on have become nearly ubiquitous in today's society. Among other functions, they may serve as work tools, communication devices and/or provide entertainment and are commonly carried in a hand, with a...

An Apple patent (number 20110273464) for a framework for graphics animation and compositing operations has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. Apparently, Apple has plans for further animation in the Mac OS X user interface.

Per the patent, a framework for performing graphics animation and compositing operations has a layer tree for interfacing with the application and a render tree for interfacing with a render engine. Layers in the layer tree can be content, windows, views, video, images, text, media, or any other type of object for a user interface of an application. The application commits change to the state of the layers of the layer tree.

The application doesn't need to include explicit code for animating the changes to the layers. Instead, an animation is determined for animating the change in state. In determining the animation, the framework can define a set of predetermined animations based on motion, visibility, and transition. The...

According to a new report from Sandvine (http://www.sandvine.com) -- a company that makes "network policy control solutions focus on protecting and improving the quality of experience on the Internet" -- we've entered a post-PC era.

In this era, the majority of Real-Time Entertainment traffic on North America’s fixed access networks is destined for devices other than a laptop or desktop computer. Game consoles, set-top boxes, smart TVs, tablets, and mobile devices being used within the home combine to receive 55% of all Real-Time Entertainment traffic. Real-Time Entertainment is described as "]applications and protocols that allow "on- demand" entertainment that is consumed (viewed or heard) as it arrives (think streamed audio and video and specific streaming sites such as Netflix and YouTube).

However, that doesn't mean that the computer is being left out of the picture. Far from it. According...

Here's a good sign for NewsStand, a feature Apple introduced with iOS 5: publisher Condé Nast saw a significant increase in both digital subscriptions and single copy sales since the launch of Newsstand. Now let's see Newsstand on the Mac.

iOS 5 organizes your magazine and newspaper app subscriptions in Newsstand: a folder that lets you access your favorite publications. It also offers a place on the App Store just for newspaper and magazine subscriptions.

You can get to it straight from Newsstand. New purchases go directly to your Newsstand folder. Then, as new issues become available, Newsstand automatically updates them in the background -- complete with the latest covers.

Monica Ray, Condé Nast’s executive vice president consumer marketing, says i the two weeks since Newsstand was introduced, new subscription sales, per week, across all nine digital editions, rose 268%, with single copy sales up 142% compared to the previous eight weeks.

An Apple patent (number 8054232) has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office that shows Apple is working on a telephonic antenna for its laptop line.

Per the patent, antenna window structures and antennas are provided for electronic devices. The electronic devices may be laptop computers or other devices that have conductive housings. Antenna windows can be formed from dielectric members. The dielectric members can have elastomeric properties. An antenna may be mounted inside a conductive housing beneath a dielectric member. The antenna can be formed from a parallel plate waveguide structure.

The parallel plate waveguide structure may have a ground plate and a radiator plate and may have dielectric material between the ground and radiator plates. The ground plate can have a primary ground plate portion and a ground strip. The ground strip may reflect radio-frequency signals so that they travel through the dielectric member. The antenna may handle radio-...

As evidenced by a new patent (number 8054221) at the US Patent & Trademark Office that shows Apple is working on satellite navigation system for portable devices.

Per the patent, a portable user device may provide Global Positioning System (GPS) services. The device may include a GPS receiver. The GPS receiver may provide accurate information about the current location of the device. A user may use the device to perform tasks. Certain tasks may generate excess heat or de-generate heat that causes the GPS receiver to perform unsatisfactorily. Methods are provided that can test GPS receiver performance during acquisition mode and during tracking mode.

During testing, the GPS receiver may be given a predetermined amount of time to acquire a GPS fix. The GPS receiver may be tested repeatedly to acquire successive GPS fixes. After a desired number of tests are performed, a success rate may be calculated. If the success rate is satisfactory, the GPS receiver satisfies...

One thing that I keep hoping for with the Mac OS X Dashboard that never materializes is an "every man's executive decision making tool." In other words, a tool similar in concept to a customizable web page (think iGoogle) where widgets are able to connect with various resources both on your computer and externally to display information and results.

When Dashboard was announced years ago, I hoped that Apple would lead the way in using it for just this kind of thing. In other words, a place where I can fit various widgets that would display information that I want, whether it be a direct display or an aggregated display of many things.

An example of a direct display would be displaying something like a widget created by your bank to display your account balances and alerts/messages. An aggregated one would be akin to the Mint service that would show all your financial data. The point here is that it would be my choice for how I set up my Dashboard.

Patent 8054299 is for a digital controller for a true multi-touch surface useable in a computer system (the iPad's Multi-Touch control, in other words). Invented by Christoph H. Krah, it embodies an improved touch surface controller for controlling a multi-point touch surface such as a touch screen or a touch pad in a computer system is disclosed.

The improved touch system controller detects signal capacitance from the pixels in the touch surface digitally, and therefore is easier and simpler to implement then previous approaches relying on analog detection and...

In more good news for Apple, new research from Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com) reports that 50% of tablet owners are viewing not only feature-length movies on their device, but TV shows as well.

Tablet and smartphones are not only becoming vital new screens for video consumption, but are also functioning as personal interaction devices for video-centric social networking and applications, says the research group. Tablets, in particular, have become a primary video device, both inside and outside the home, says Keith Nissen, research director, Research and Markets.

As these devices become a center-point for video engagement and consumption, content providers, device manufacturers, and operators need to support a multiscreen usage model that reflects social interaction, screen interaction, personalization, and mobility. Additional research findings...

Since I live in Kansas City, Kansas, site of the coming Google 1 Gig Internet service, I have tried to keep my ear to the ground on developments. Getting information from Google about what they plan reminds me of the black hole at Apple R&D. "The Wall Street Journal" reports Google plans to offer phone and cable TV as well as super fast Internet when they finally get around to launching the project.

In Kansas City we see nothing on the ground to indicate they are actually doing anything but talking about it. The plan was to turn on locations with close connections to hubs by early January and then to finish the project fairly fast.

Then they added Kansas City, MO, to the project which is a much larger city than KCK. That they intent to offer phone and TV service isn't too surprising, but apparently they intend to involve Time Warner, who owns the soon to be obsolete wired cable system in town. "The Wall Street Journal"...

"MacRumors" (http://www.macrumors.com) says Apple has already started work on Mac OS X 10.8. While I'm sure that's true, I suspect we'll see some major updates to Mac OS X 10.7 ("Lion") before 10.8 arrives.

Apple's major OS X releases are normally released every other year: 10.3 in 2003, 10.4 in 2005, 10.5 in 2007, 10.6 in 2009, and 10.7 in 2011. Based on this pattern, as "MacRumors" notes, we expect Apple to preview Mac OS X 10.8 sometime in 2012, with the final public release happening in 2013.

"9to5Mac" (http:/www.9to5Mac.com) says an upcoming version of Mac OS X may feature AirPlay Mirroring and iMessage application. AirPlay Mirroring for the Mac will allow a user to wirelessly mirror exactly what is shown on their Mac’s display to an Apple TV connected to a projector, television, or external monitor. AirPlay video streaming is also being integrated into QuickTime X, says "9to5Mac."

An Apple patent (number 20110267359) for systems and methods for hot plug GPU power control has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. It shows that Apple is working on ways for Macs and iOS devices to more efficiently manage multiple graphics processors.

Per the patent, systems and methods include an electronic device having multiple GPUs and a GPU power control process that controls switching between a first GPU and a second GPU, such as a high performance GPU. The electronic device may be coupled to an external display by a passive adapter or an active adapter. The GPU power control process may determine if the second GPU is active and switch to the second GPU upon connection of the external display through either the passive adapter or the active adapter.

Upon connection of an active adapter, the GPU power control process may use hot plug functionality to determine connection of the external display to the active adapter and provide appropriate...

In fact, within 24 months, I predict that the Apple laptop line will consist of the MacBook Air (11-inch and 13-inch models) and the MacBook Air Pro (15-inch and 17-inch models). Yes, a 17-inch MacBook Air model.

Though Apple has filed a patent (http://macte.ch/wRzIE) for slimmer laptops with optical drives, I think the portable Mac's future is in devices without built-in portable drives. Those who need them will buy the US$79 standalone SuperDrive that Apple currently offers for the MacBook Air.

An Apple patent (number 20110269463) for methods and an apparatus for preserving battery resources in a mobile communication device has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. It hints that Apple is working on a future iPhone with "virtual" SIM card.

The patent involves preserving battery resources in a wireless device in communication with a wireless network by dynamically aligning a RRC connection status of a mobile wireless communication device in communication with a wireless network with a data traffic profile. The data traffic profile indicating a pattern of data transfer between the mobile wireless communication device and the wireless network. The inventors are Shiehlie Wang and Ben-Heng Juang.

Here's Apple's summary of the invention: "A method of conserving battery power in a wireless device in communication with a wireless network is carried out by performing at least the following operations. An operating state and an associated data traffic...

To a hacker, an un-patched zero-day vulnerability is extremely valuable and never frivolously wasted. The Duqu worm seems to have used an unknown Windows vulnerability just to get information for a future attack from "secure" computer networks. No money was stolen. That who ever wrote the worm was more interested in information than money says a lot about who might be behind the project.

Microsoft is working on patching the rare kernel vulnerability as quickly as possible. The recently discovered Duqu worm, which only infects Microsoft Word documents, (.doc) files and then uses a vulnerability in the very kernel of the Windows PC OS to do its dirty work is very well written.

Duqu appears to have been written by the same group that launched Stuxnet last year based upon similarities and the sophistication of the newly discovered malware. No one took credit for Stuxnet but Israel and the US were widely blamed. Stuxnet set Iran...

There has been a lot of speculation in the press regarding the direction Apple will go under new leadership. New CEO Tim Cook, while presenting a firm hand on the day to day operations of Apple must rely upon the product instincts of his management team. The late Steve Jobs had the genius to see markets that begged to be fixed and had the gaul to revolutionize entire industries. Despite being a micromanager, Jobs' attention span was too short to follow up on minute details like Cook does. Apple needs Mr. Cook, but it also needs to boldly go where thinking different will lead Apple.

That it takes a team to replace Steve Jobs isn't a problem or even a liability; it will be a strength. The decision to encompass a new industry or market is a decision that has to be made crisply and timely to keep Apple relevant and growing. Apple has made some mistakes in the past; mistakes are survivable if not so major they take the company down due to...

I expect to see a revamped Mac Pro before the end of 2011. It will probably be the last incarnation of the pro desktop.

Despite the coming availability of a new generation of Sandy Bridge desktop CPUs suitable for advancing the Mac Pro line, Apple has reportedly been evaluating whether to continue to invest in its full-sized workstation line beyond this year in the face of limited sales, according to "AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com).

That's not surprising. Except for a few users the iMac, Apple's best-selling desktop, has plenty of processing power. You can attach two Thunderbolt Cinema Displays to the Thunderbolt-equipped iMac for plenty of screen real estate. And Thunderbolt technology "will ultimately allow other, more popular members of the Mac product family to assume the vast majority of the roles that once required the Mac Pro's flexibility and architecture," as "...

Prescience was not foreseen by the Spy when he titled last month's column, but said monicker now seems faintly evocative of a sad prophecy. The iCEO has not merely stepped down, he's left us altogether.

Steve Jobs' legacy sees us all materially wealthier, for he had a unique talent for putting his finger on the pulse of the market two or three years down the road, then inventing the product to create the market his mind's eye saw. When the history of our time is written, Steve Jobs' name will be far more prominent than any of the politicians whose images and dulcet tones saturate the daily media, more lasting than any entertainment idol, have more footnotes and records than any athlete. Jobs was unique. He passes to the next life to no one's benefit and everyone's regret.

Meanwhile, back at the iCompany, business carries on and will carry on for years to come much as it has in the past. The workaholic culture of excellence...

Shipments of ultrabook by Acer and Asustek are expected to reach 100,000 units each by the end of 2011, falling short of their targets of 200,000-300,000 units, due to relatively high prices, reports "DigiTimes" (http://www.digitimes.com), quoting unnamed "sources at channels." Is anyone surprised?

I mean why would you buy an ultrabook? If you want a compact device for content consumption, get an iPad. If you want a compact device for content creation and already have a desktop computer, get a MacBook Air. If you need a compact device for content creation and don't have a desktop computer, get a MacBook Pro. It's that simple.

Of course, to some folks it may not be that simple. Last month Acer Vice President Scott Lin said (http://macte.ch/StrCT) said that upcoming ultrabooks would eat the iPad's lunch. He said that ultrabooks will...

Software Updates via MacUpdate

TechTool Pro 9.6 - Hard drive and system...

TechTool Pro has long been one of the foremost utilities for keeping your Mac running smoothly and efficiently. With the release of version 9, it has become more proficient than ever.
TechTool... Read more

Adobe Animate CC 2018 18.0.1.115 - Anima...

Animate CC 2018 is available as part of Adobe Creative Cloud for as little as $19.99/month (or $9.99/month if you're a previous Flash Professional customer).
Animate CC 2018 (was Flash CC) lets you... Read more

Postbox 5.0.22 - Powerful and flexible e...

Postbox is a new email application that helps you organize your work life and get stuff done. It has all the elegance and simplicity of Apple Mail, but with more power and flexibility to manage even... Read more

Tunnelblick 3.7.4b - GUI for OpenVPN.

Tunnelblick is a free, open source graphic user interface for OpenVPN on OS X. It provides easy control of OpenVPN client and/or server connections. It comes as a ready-to-use application with all... Read more

Carbon Copy Cloner 5.0.5 - Easy-to-use b...

Carbon Copy Cloner backups are better than ordinary backups. Suppose the unthinkable happens while you're under deadline to finish a project: your Mac is unresponsive and all you hear is an ominous,... Read more

Bartender 3.0.32 - Organize your menu-ba...

Bartender lets you organize your menu-bar apps by hiding them, rearranging them, or moving them to Bartender's Bar. You can display the full menu bar, set options to have menu-bar items show in the... Read more

Adobe Lightroom Classic CC 7.1 - Import,...

Adobe Lightroom is available as part of Adobe Creative Cloud for as little as $9.99/month bundled with Photoshop CC as part of the photography package. Lightroom 6 is also available for purchase as a... Read more

Ortelius 2.0.8 - Vector drawing app espe...

Ortelius is a full-featured vector drawing application especially for map design. Draw directly with features such as roads, rivers, coastlines, buildings, symbols and contours. Ortelius is known for... Read more

Tunnelblick 3.7.4b - GUI for OpenVPN.

Tunnelblick is a free, open source graphic user interface for OpenVPN on OS X. It provides easy control of OpenVPN client and/or server connections. It comes as a ready-to-use application with all... Read more

Carbon Copy Cloner 5.0.5 - Easy-to-use b...

Carbon Copy Cloner backups are better than ordinary backups. Suppose the unthinkable happens while you're under deadline to finish a project: your Mac is unresponsive and all you hear is an ominous,... Read more

Latest Forum Discussions

Rules of Survival guide - how to boost y...

It's not easy surviving in the "every-man-for-himself" world of Rules of Survival. You'll be facing off against many other players who might be more skilled than you, or are luckier than you. There are a lot of factors weighing against you.
With... | Read more »

Amazing Katamari Damacy brings the bizarro world of the original games to mobile and shifts them into an endless format that's just as addictive as the PlayStation entries. Your goal is still to roll as much random stuff as you possibly can, though... | Read more »

Portal Knights guide - crafting tips and...

In Portal Knights, you're only as strong as the items you have at your disposal. This sandbox adventure is all about crafting and building up the next big thing. Whether you're an avid explorer or collector, crafting will likely play a large part... | Read more »

The best deals on the App Store this wee...

A new week means new discounts on the App Store. This week's deals run the gamut of action-adventure titles, puzzle games, and one of the best narrative adventure series out there. If you're looking to fill out your mobile gaming library on a... | Read more »

What you need to know about Animal Cross...

We hope you've been hard at work on collecting all of those holiday items in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, because you're about to get a whole new list of fun things to do as the game receives its first big update sometime soon. There are a lot of... | Read more »

Reigns: Her Majesty guide - how to use e...

Ruling a kingdom isn't easy--doubly so for a queen whose every decision is questioned by the other factions seeking a slice of power. Reigns: Her Majesty builds on the original game's swipey tactics, adding items that you can use to move the story... | Read more »

The best new games we played this week -...

Friday has crept up on us once again, so it's time to honor the best new games we've played over the past few days. This past week was a pretty exciting one, with the debut of lots of beautiful new indies and some familiar faces returning to the... | Read more »

Portal Knights guide- beginner tips and...

Portal Knights is finally making the jump to iOS and Android, and it's already climbing the ranks to become the next big MMO experience on mobile. This sprawling sandbox game will let you pursue any adventure you wish, whether you want to sling... | Read more »

Reigns: Her Majesty guide - how to swipe...

Reigns: Her Majesty is storming the App Store this week, bringing more tinder-esque kingdom building to eager players everywhere. If you've played the original Reigns, you'll know that leading a kingdom is never easy. It's a careful balancing act... | Read more »

Apple has Certified Refurbished 2016 12″ Retina MacBooks available starting at $949. Apple will include a standard one-year warranty with each MacBook, and shipping is free. The following... Read more

B&H drops price on 13″ 256GB MacBook Air...

B&H has the 13″ 1.8GHz/256GB Apple MacBook Air (MQD42LL/A) now on sale for $1079 including free shipping plus NY & NJ sales tax only. Their price is $120 off MSRP, and it’s the lowest price... Read more

MacTech is a registered trademark of Xplain Corporation. Xplain, "The journal of Apple technology", Apple Expo, Explain It, MacDev, MacDev-1, THINK Reference, NetProfessional, Apple Expo, MacTech Central, MacTech Domains, MacNews, MacForge, and the MacTutorMan are trademarks or service marks of Xplain Corporation. Sprocket is a registered trademark of eSprocket Corporation. Other trademarks and copyrights appearing in this printing or software remain the property of their respective holders. Not responsible for typographical errors.

All contents are Copyright 1984-2011 by Xplain Corporation. All rights reserved. Theme designed by Icreon.